Microsoft, Google, Leading Tech Companies Sign Commitment to Fight AI Misinformation for 2024 Elections

A group of 20 leading tech companies including Microsoft, Google, and Meta, signed a joint commitment document to help fight misinformation for the 2024 elections.

Other companies such as Amazon, IBM, Adobe, and Arm also joined the pledge against misinformation and deepfake.

Tech, AI Companies Join Forces to Mitigate Election Deepfake

The joint commitment is specifically intended to decrease the surge in deepfakes. Previously, several public personalities were used as subjects for deceptive audio, video, and images.

In the upcoming elections, several key stakeholders in politics have been used to mimic their faces and voices to spread false voting information.

Along with big tech companies, AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stability AI have joined the cause. Social media companies X, TikTok, and Snap are also included.

"It's encouraging to see some companies coming to the table but right now I don't see enough specifics, so we will likely need legislation that sets clear standards," California Democratic state senator, Josh Becker, said in an interview.

Tech, AI Companies Enforce Stricter Detection Mechanisms

According to data from Clarity, the number of election-related misinformation and deepfakes has been increasing 900% year over year. Misinformation has also been a serious problem during the 2016 presidential campaign.

For now, companies are discussing a certain amount of technical standards and improving their detection mechanism. Currently, the detection and watermarking technologies used to flag deepfakes are yet to catch up with their fast growth.

Companies that signed the pledge have agreed to eight high-level commitments. This includes assessing model risks, addressing the distribution of the content, process transparency, and more.

"Democracy rests on safe and secure elections," Google president of global affairs, Kent Walker, stated. As for IBM's chief privacy and trust officer, Christina Montgomery it is vital to have "concrete, cooperative measures are needed to protect people and societies from the amplified risks of AI-generated deceptive content."